Modern Luxuries

As I traveled up to northern Virginia two days ago, I had lots of time in the car to think.  For the most part, Josiah and David were quietly occupied in the backseat with books; and both Tobin and Shav slept for part of the drive, going and coming.  That gave me time to contemplate all kinds of topics.  Like...

Isn't it amazing that some of the biggest dilemmas we face are all a result of the abundance and freedom and luxury in which we live?  If we had lived one or two hundred years ago, or if we lived now but in a different country, we would probably not ever have to deal with the challenges that seem so pressing in our modern life.  For example...

How much time and energy have I exerted, trying to figure out what to do with all our stuff??  I consider my family to be fairly frugal and not overly concerned about material possessions; but regardless, our closets and dressers are filled to overflowing with clothes, our bookshelves sag beneath the weight of our beloved books, the boys do crafts and write on papers that pile up, their toys seem to reproduce at a staggering rate.  I do not know what to do with all our stuff.  And this is not a unique dilemma:  no, in this day and age in this country, the accumulation of stuff is an epidemic, necessitating the building of more storage units and the writing of numerous books and articles on home management.  Not only are there tragic (shocking!) stories of people who actually filled their homes with so much clutter that they perished in the debris, but there is also a terrible amount of stress that we deal with daily, just because of all our stuff.  This is a direct result of luxury.

Or here's another example:  the abundance of food that we have in this country, resulting in a huge (no pun intended) problem with obesity.  The pioneers didn't have to worry about dieting; in fact, at times, they were just grateful to have anything to eat.  Countless people around the world right now never have to give a second thought to whether to follow the South Beach diet or Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig or the Cookie diet (what??).  They don't have to think about the strategy of using a smaller plate so you'll eat less...or leaving a few bites of food on your plate to keep from consuming those calories...or chewing slowly so your body will think you're full sooner.  They don't have to try to figure out how to fit a gym membership into the budget...or time for exercising into the schedule.  How much anxiety is expended in our country because of food choices and weight battles?  Another direct result of luxury.

On a different note, we even live in unprecedented luxury when it comes to the Bible.  Never before have so many Bibles been so readily available to so many people.  If I counted the number of Bibles here in our house right now, I'm sure I could easily get to 50; and that's not even taking into account the incredible resources online that I can access with the click of a mouse.  When I think about the history of the Bible and the people who literally gave their lives for it and the people who right now are living in parts of the world where religious freedom is nonexistent and who would dearly love to have a Bible of their very own, I am stunned by my own lack of gratitude.  I realize, too, that many of the arguments that we spiritually-minded Americans engage in are only possible because of the luxury we have.  Take the KJV-only debate:  does a Christian who lives in China and has never had a Bible care which version is placed in his hands?  Or consider the whole which-church-should-I-go-to quandary:  when Charles and Caroline Ingalls (and so many other pioneers) lived close enough to a town to actually participate in worship services, did they say, "Oh, they're Calvinists.  We can't worship with them."  Of course not!  Apparently, we think our luxury gives us a license to argue and bicker and debate the most minute points of theology.

All of these dilemmas (what to do with stuff, how to lose weight, and which church to be a part of) are a very real part of my life these days.  I'm humbled when I realize that the fact that I even have these dilemmas shows just how luxurious my life really is.

Meanwhile, as I ponder these perplexities, I also stop to appreciate other little luxuries I'm blessed by:

~ a spontaneous picnic lunch in the backyard on a beautiful fall(ish) day

~ putting flannel sheets on the bed for the first time in the fall (well, it's almost fall)...I can hardly wait to go to bed tonight!  :)

~ being able to go to the store and buy cilantro so I can make this recipe, even when the cilantro that we planted in the garden shriveled up and died  :)

I am so blessed, and as I think about that tonight, I feel the weight of it.  What I tell my boys is true:  with privilege comes responsibility.